Inventor 2009

So far I have only had a chance to take Inventor on a short trip around the harbor, and here are some personal observations.

I really like the new release, the people at Autodesk have done a good job (all-in-all), providing something for everyone. And I do mean everyone, there are things in there for the new user, to help them create better sketches, and things for the verterans and power users.

THUMBS (HOOKS) DOWN: the steering wheel has been implemented into Inventor. Some of you may be familiar with the 'steering wheel' from Design Review. But, to me, that little thing following you around, even in 'reduced footprint' mode is enough to make even the heartiest of souls paranoid.

THUMBS UP: here are couple of initial impressions. And more to come. First up; the ViewCube, a nice subtle addition to the interface. The ViewCube lets you pick a face, a corner, an edge, and your model re-orients based on your selection on the ViewCube. You can drag on the ViewCube and the model will re-orient (almost like orbit). You can right-click on the ViewCube (remember: right-click on everything) and a pop-up menu will appear, allowing you to create a new home view, a new front view, or change from orthographic to perspective. Next, and there will be more on this later, one of my real favorites, the ability to publish to the Frame Generator, and the bonus is that it can be done very easily.

More Soon !!!